DirectShow Error - only for MPEG-2?

[Kentai]

Hello, new here and have a bit of a weird question.

I'm using a month old computer, and I've had a problem since I got it regarding working with MPEG-2 streams. When ever I try to open an .MPEG file in Subtitle Workshop, I can't read the file by frames; infact, when I change the option to "work with frames" it gives me a '0 frames of 0 frames', and when it gives the runtime when I work with timecode it just says FPS next to the current time, rather than having the number at the top and the FPS on the bottom. Also, when I use a subtitle track with an MPEG file I know works (as they worked on a few computers prior), the synch goes horribly out of whack - if I start it from the beginning and let it play, it seems all right, but if I rewind it or if I jump to another spot in the movie, the synch changes completely.

Also, when I try to load MPEG files in to After Effects, I get the following error message;

"After Effects error: an unspecified AVI or DirectShow error occured. (1)
( 53 :: 33 )"

This also applies to opening .IFO files, but I can play any .AVI,, and subtitle workshop will even read .D2V files without complaints. This makes me think it's a very MPEG specific error.

When I uninstalled my video card drivers (tried both an ATI AIW 9600 and a Sapphire RADEON 9600) and played with limited colors, I could get proper frame count and synch without fail. Unfortunately, I can't very well work without any video drivers, but it's making me think the problem may be my ATI card/s not liking DirectShow for some strange reason.

I'm running a Pentium 4 3.4, with Windows 2000 SP4, a gig of ram and I'm currently using the K-Lite FULL codec pack, though I've tried half a dozen different codecs for MPEG-2 alone, none of which have made a single difference.

Any ideas guys?

Thanks!

[kschang]

No! Argh! No codec packs! That's what's messing you up! Too many cooks in one soup! Argh!

[Kentai]

I figured the codec's were the problem - at first not enough, and later too many. However, the files worked just fine with K-Lite installed when I had removed my ATI drivers, and now that I've removed every codec I had (K-Lite, RealAlternative, Quicktime, DirectVobSub - everything but what Windows 2000 already had installed), the problem is still there.

I can't think of any reason why the presence of an ATI card (or at least the drivers - and I've already tried using the Omega drivers, didn't help...) would screw up the frame count on an MPEG file, and it's been a frustrating month to say the least. Is there anything else that could possibly affect only MPEG files, not AVI's and WMV? Seems to me if DirectShow were to blame that everything would have problems, not just MPEG... but that's not what's happening here.